Deus ex Machina
by orcaman
Summary: A sequel to "A Bird in the Hand". Diana and Bruce take the first halting steps. Or do they?


Author's note: Please note the story may contain mature themes and language, but nothing explicit. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome; flames will be cheerfully ignored. (Yeah, I know, I know: Chapter Two's title's Latin, not Greek. So sue me.) 

Legal Blah Blah Blah: Justice League and associated characters are owned by DC Comics, Inc. I don't own the characters--I'm just borrowing them for a while.

And now, on with the show!

A Bird in the Hand (HGGL, BMWW)  
a love story by Orcaman

Chapter Two: Deus ex Machina

Midnight aboard the Watchtower. The waxing moon shone through the opaque window; the space station was in darkness as the Earth eclipsed the sun. If you could look closely enough, you would see that a small altar had been erected in a certain window . If you could see even closer, you would see a small cone of incense smoldering, filling the air with sweet-scented smoke. Inside the room, the lights were dimmed. If you could see into the window, you would see a beautiful woman, with jet-black hair and eyes as blue as the sky, naked except for a simple, diaphanous shift, kneeling before the altar. Her name is Diana; her title is Princess of Themyscira, but she is better known to the world as Wonder Woman. If you could have watched, you would have seen as she dipped her hands into a small amphora filled with scented water. You would have seen her sprinkle the water on a small statue of Hera and begin her ritual chant, as she had every year since she came of age.

"O royal Hera, of majestic mien, aerial-formed, divine  
Zeus' blessed queen  
Throned in the bosom of cerulean air  
The race of mortals is thy constant care.

"The cooling gales they power alone inspires  
Which nourish life, which every life desires.  
Mother of showers and winds, from thee alone  
Producing all things, mortal life is known:

"All natures share thy temperament divine  
And universal sway alone is thine  
With sounding blasts of wind, the swelling sea  
And rolling rivers roar when shook by thee.

"Come, blessed Goddess, famed almighty queen  
With aspect kind, rejoicing and serene.

"Hera, hear my prayer. I seek thy divine protection for my mother, Hippolyte, for this New Year." Diana's voice faltered just a little as she said her mother's name. Unbidden, tears welled in her eyes. "Let her wisdom increase; give her the strength to do what must be done. Let her kindness and strength wash over the shores of Themyscira like the tide. Let her look upon her wayward daughter with compassion and mercy. Let happiness and joy fill the hearts of my sisters. Let love be their armor and courage their shield. Hera, hear my prayer." Diana solemnly snuffed out the candles and incense. Somewhere far below, on a small Mediterranean island, the sun was setting on the place she wanted most to see, the place she would forever be denied.

Her prayers finished, Diana hung her chiton in its space next to the altar and put on a plain white linen nightgown. There would be no sleep for her tonight, she knew; on Themyscira, her Amazon sisters would be feasting and competing in the celebratory athletic games that they held every year at this time. But for her, nothing. Just tossing and turning and staring out the window at the blue dot turning slowly beneath her. She sighed and sat on the foot of her bed, listening to the soft sussurus of the air conditioning. Suddenly the room seemed too small. Its walls seemed to close in on her. Maybe she should take a walk.

It was J'onn J'onnzz's turn for monitor duty; she often talked to him on nights as this. He was an alien, but his advantage was that as a Martian he wasn't blinded by Terran cultural assumptions. Talking to him soothed her own heart. Maybe he'd like to talk tonight, she thought as she slipped into a robe.

She padded, barefoot, down the hallway toward the balcony overseeing the central monitor stations. The sound of her footsteps were stilled by the soft carpeting. The station was silent, with only the whisper of the environmental controls systems providing any ambient sound. She missed the singing of birds on Themyscira, the pounding of the surf, and on this night more than any other, she needed contact with another person.

The silence heightened sounds coming from Hawkgirl's quarters. Shayera Hol--Hawkgirl-- and John Stewart, the Green Lantern, were apparently enjoying a little quality time. Diana could faintly hear John's deep voice, followed by Shayera's throaty giggle. Diana paused for a moment to listen, smiling wistfully. She'd never thought that warrior spirits such as John and Shayera could find such happiness together. That sound, the sound of two people in love, made her own isolation even harder to bear at times like this.

Diana stopped off at the galley and took a few chocolate chip cookies--her favorite--from the refrigerator. J'onn didn't care for milk, so she retrieved two bottles of water. A few more steps brought her to the balcony overlooking the monitor stations. She stepped off the rail and floated downward about thirty feet until she reached the monitor level. "Hi, J'onn. Would you like some...oh."

J'onn wasn't at the monitor station. Instead of the green-skinned Manhunter, she saw the familiar pointy-eared cowl that sent a frisson through her. Batman.

Diana alit. "Hello, Princess." Batman didn't turn at her approach.

"Hello, Batman. I didn't expect you. Where's J'onn?"

"This is a high holy period for Martians. J'onn will be unavailable for the next day or so. I volunteered to take his place." As he spoke, Batman's fingers flew over the monitor's keyboard. What he was looking for was anybody's guess, but that's what he did. He had the sometimes-disturbing ability to focus, laserlike, on the task at hand while carrying on a conversation on a completely different topic. Sometimes Diana thought he was more computer than man, but it was obvious (to her, at least) that he carried a psychic wound that would never heal and the only way for him to deal with it was to retreat from his emotions. Which meant, of course, that he wasn't dealing with it at all.

"Oh. Well, I don't want to bother you." She turned to go.

"Diana." She stopped at her name. "Have you finished your rituals?"

"Yes. How did you--"

Batman leaned back in his chair and turned to face her. "Tonight marks the first crescent moon of spring, a time when the ancient Greeks traditionally celebrated the new year. You smell of incense and candle wax. And from the sound of your voice...you've been crying." His voice was unemotional and his face was inexpressive as always, but there was something sympathetic in his manner. Which was shocking in and of itself. He turned back to the monitors, flicking through arcane databases and news channels with seemingly random motions.

"I'm...impressed. I didn't know it showed," she said.

"It doesn't show, really. I just tend to notice things like that."

"Oh." She drew her robe closer and sat in a nearby chair. "I miss my mother and my sisters so much. They're having the annual festival down there right now. My sister Megara is probably singing one of her silly songs, making everyone laugh...Atalanta is probably winning the foot races again, now that I'm not there anymore. It's funny; Atalanta and I fought all the time when we were children, but she became my best friend on Themyscira. We were so close, my mother used to call me 'Atalanta' by mistake." She took a cookie and put the plate down on the monitor stand, within easy reach for Batman.

"Don't blame yourself, Princess. You're making the best of a bad situation. I'm sure they miss you, too." He turned back to the monitors, his cape rustling on the chair.

"I dream about them sometimes. Do you ever dream about your family, Batman?"

Pause. For less than a second, which she would not have noticed had it been anyone other than Batman. "Sometimes." What was not said: Nightmares. Every night for twenty years, always the same: a gun roaring twice, the muffled thud of two bodies striking the pavement, the rattle of pearls scattering across the sidewalk, the wail of a boy whose world has just been shattered, the ugly face of the thug who committed the murder. Waking up, sweating.

"What are they like? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

A longer pause this time, as if he were weighing different responses. "I'm an only child and...I don't really..speak to my parents very often."

"It must be difficult being Batman. I can't imagine having to keep my identity a secret. Do they know? Have you told them?"

Batman tapped a few keys. The monitor's display changed. "There's an exhibition of Greek antiquities at the Gotham Museum of Art. The Greek ambassador has asked to meet you." What was not said, but well understood nonetheless: That's enough about me. Land mines ahead. Here there be dragons. Bridge washed out. WRONG WAY -- SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE.

"Oh." Diana was chastened. "That would be...nice. I've always wanted to meet Ambassador Papoudakis."

"I'll tell him you've accepted. The Museum is also hosting a charity ball to coincide with the exhibit. Formal dress is required."

"Why, Batman--are you asking me out on a date?"

Batman's expression didn't change. "Sorry, Princess. It's not really my sort of thing. I'm sure you'll find someone to whirl you around the dance floor a time or two. Besides, what would the gossip columnists say--'Wonder Woman Goes Goth'?"

"I see." Diana stood and yawned pointedly, even though she wasn't sleepy. You've got a big mouth, Diana. "I think it's time for me to go to bed. Good night." Diana was taken aback and a bit saddened. She'd thought maybe she could get him to open up a bit; she was lonely and she needed some warmth, a little human connection. Maybe that was just too much to hope for where the Batman was concerned.

"Good night." Batman focused on his monitors but he heard the whisper of air as she flew slowly up to the living quarters. After she was gone, he took a deep breath, inhaling her faint scent--bear's breech, he thought. Idly, he wondered what it would be like to kiss her, to hold her in his arms and feel her yield ever so slightly as their lips met, to feel her breasts against his chest...He blinked away the daydream. His relationships never worked out. Better not to go down that road with Wonder Woman. She needed a man who didn't have barbed wire around his heart, and certainly not one who reflexively shut out those who tried to be his friends. He regretted that; Diana deserved better.

He picked up one of the remaining cookies and took a thoughtful bite. As one of Gotham's wealthiest patrons (and one of its most eligible bachelors), Bruce Wayne would certainly be expected to make an appearance at a high-profile event like the charity ball. And he did owe her a dance. A still, quiet voice within him wondered, Why not? Meet her halfway, Bruce.

Diana walked slowly back to her quarters, pausing to stare out of the observation window. Then it hit her: Batman had actually made a joke.

Far below, the rays of the morning sun were touching an ancient temple atop the highest mountain on Themyscira. If Wonder Woman had a powerful enough telescope and she peered through it at exactly the right time, she would have seen a woman, tall, blonde, of indeterminate age but regal bearing, mounting the temple steps. Pausing to light a taper, the woman entered the temple after washing her hands in a bowl just outside the entrance. Kneeling before a statue of Hera, the woman held a scented candle in her hands and began the ritual prayer she had uttered countless times before.

"I sing of golden-throned Hera whom Rhea bare  
Queen of the Immortals is she, surpassing all in beauty  
She is the sister and wife of loud-thundering Zeus,  
The glorious one whom all the blessed throughout high Olympos  
Reverence and honour even as Zeus who delights in thunder.

"Hera, hear my prayer. I seek thy divine protection for my daughter, Diana, for this New Year. Let her not think harshly of an old woman. Let mercy and compassion temper her warrior's soul. Let the light of love fill her days and warm her nights. Let forgiveness soften her heart for the wrong I have done her. Let her find peace, out there in the cold world. Let love be her armor and courage her shield. Hera, hear my prayer."


End file.
